Everyone started in shock at Seiya, who just turned down basically everyone that was with him.

"Hard pass," he spoke. "On every single one of them."

"Wh-what do you mean 'hard pass'?" Mash asked.

"You and your girlfriend's stats are way too low. I'm not interested in babysitting a couple of noobs." Seiya replied.

"Hey, what did you just call me?!" Mash asked.

"We're both still working hard to level up. Once we get stronger, we can help you out." Elulu interrupted.

"And yet, you couldn't even tell that Father Zombie was undead. That's like, basic awareness." Seiya replied. "You guys are pretty useless."

"Okay, I sorta understand why you don't want Mash and Elulu around, but why'd you turn Mirror Match and me down?" Ethox said.

"What, it's not obvious to you?" Seiya said. "You're a magnet."

"W-What?" Ethox asked in confusion.

"I'm not stupid." Seiya said. "I heard all about the stuff about this cycle. When those two warriors find out where you are, they'll come after you. If there's one thing we don't need, it's extra trouble."

"But… Theo's not an enemy! I retained his memories when I was born, he's not-!" Ethox started.

"Do you really believe he won't fight you?" Seiya asked. "Think about why he has to gather these heroes. It's not just to fight this Mr. Dark and Dangerous. You're part of the problem too since you messed up everything. I'm pretty sure he's already made up his mind to take you down too."

"H-He wouldn't… he won't…" Ethox stuttered, unable to come up with a counter, as Mash growled.

"Don't talk down to us like that! I better show you what iIm made of!" Mash said, grabbing his sword. "They call me "Mash the Hero" back in my home village of Nakeshi!"

"Whatevs… sounds like a Crakoshi." Seiya brushed it off.

Ristarte was looking around at the whole situation, wondering what to do, when suddenly a group of guards showed up.

"What's going on here? Who would dare desecrate this holy church into ruin?" the captain asked. "You there, explain yourselves!"

"Well, you see…" Mirror Match started, trying to come up with an explanation, when the nun started to stir.

"Sister, are you alright?" One of the soldiers asked. "What happened?"

"I… I'm still shaken, so the details are vague, but… a horrible creature disguised itself as a priest and destroyed the church." the nun explained, allowing Rista and Match to sigh in relief. "I do remember clearly, that the monster mentioned 10,000 of his undead brethren would be at Seimul's gates by tomorrow morning."

"Ten thousand?!" a knight asked.

"They've already overtaken Crane Castle heading south. Who would've thought they had such numbers?" the captain said.

"Don't despair, god has not forsaken us." the nun said. "The heavens have sent us a divine goddess, as well as a blessed hero with great strength. And four allies, two with dragonkin blood in their veins."

The guard captain and his men kneeled. "Please, forgive my rudeness! Let's start over. We are knights of the empire, sent to defend Seimul and defeat the undead horde. Brave hero, we ask that you and your allies fight alongside us."

"...How much you got?" Seiya asked.

"How much what?" the captain asked.

"Money, of course." Seiya replied as Ristarte zipped up.

"Is now the really the best time to ask for that?" she whispered.

"I have a new skill I learned recently, and it requires a lot of capital gain." Seiya replied.

"Capital? What kind of technique needs that?" Ristarte asked.

"Of course, you will be rewarded handsomely. At least 1000 gold coins…" the captain replied.

"Cool. I'm gonna need that in writing." Seiya said, handing the man a piece of paper before walking off.

"One moment, there's 200 knights on the way here! Don't you want our help?" the captain asked.

"Hard Pass." Seiya rejected.

"What do you mean, "hard pass"?!" the captain asked in shock.

"I bet the town has a few stragglers or something… you should protect 'em'." Seiya said. "Get all that, Mashed Potato?"

"It's Mash the Hero, you jerk!" Mash said.

"If you're not going back to Krakoshi, then you should help out the knights… Or whatever isn't around me." Seiya said.

"Well, what do we do now?" Elulu asked.

"Definitely not whatever he says." Mash growled and stormed off, elulu right behind.

"Wait! Mash, Elulu!" Ristarte called. "I hope they're not gonna take on that braineater army all by themselves…"

"They're not that stupid. Even still, I'll have wiped out those undead gasbags first." Seiya pointed out.

"Look, you may be ridiculously strong, but that doesn't make all four of them useless. Can't we all just work together?" Rista suggested.

"No way. That's dumb." Seiya rebuffed.

"Hey, in case you forgot, Ethox managed to hold off Chaos Machina while you were buffing yourself up!" Rista reminded the hero. "Sure his stats are lower, but not by that much! Why not have him along?"

"Like I said before you dragged them with us. He could've been a spy for the Demon Lord. I'm convinced all that fighting was just an act." Seiya said. "Besides, there are 10,000 zombies. One or two hundred people isn't going to make a difference. No need for anyone else to die, including those two annoying kids from Fava Bean."

"(This is new. Is he showing concern for the children?)" RIsta thought, turning to Seiya. "Seiya-wha?!" she gawked as she saw him floating using the Flight skill. "When did you get up there?!"

"I'm heading off, go wait at the inn." Seiya said.

"What? What did you say?" Ristarte asked.

"And in case you think I need your help….the answers still hard pass." Seiya said flying off and leaving a shocked Ristarte in the dust.

"What… did he just reject me even though I'm a literal goddess? Hard pass?! I'm gonna hard pass you!" Rista screamed. She then raised her arms into the air and looked towards the sky. "Order! Grant unto the goddess Ristarte the gift of flight she should already have!"

It was then that the goddess of healing grew wings on her back. She then turned to look at the two former cultists.

"You two wait at the inn! I'm gonna give that meathead a piece of our minds!" Rista promised as she took off into the horizon after Seiya.


And with that… Mirror Match and Ethox were all alone.

"Well… that just happened." Ethox sighed. "What should we do now, Match?"

"Isn't it obvious? We leave." Mirror Match stated. "There must be some place we can lay low where neither of the sides in the cycle can find us… the Nature Universe? Cross-World? Perhaps if we head to the Darkness Universe, we can find that tower where that Inheritance War ended…"

"Wait, what're you talking about? W-We need to help Seiya." Ethox said.

"Ethox, I believe he made his position on that matter more than clear." Mirror stated.

"But… you seriously wanna run away? After everything we were told about?" Ethox asked.

"We don't have many other options, Ethox." Mirror said sadly. "As long as this cycle is in process, you'll be a target, and the hero doesn't seem keen on helping us."

"You know, I'm getting really tired of you always having it out for Seiya." Ethox muttered, getting angry. "Yeah he's harsh, but maybe he's doing all this for a reason."

"Reason?!" Mirror match sputtered. "What logical reason did he have to burn down a town?! Or drive Cereceus to despair? For that matter, just because he's cautious, it does not give him an excuse to treat others like tools and or obstacles!"

"In case you forgot, the man saved my life!" Ethox countered.

"That was just a coincidence, Ethox! If it had suited him, he surely would have let you die!" Mirror responded.

"Is that why Hope saved you from falling to madness?! Because it was convenient for him?!" Ethox yelled.

"He's not Hope, Ethox! Why are you so naive?!" Mirror yelled.

"Because I was born from a idotic, but good natured soul who got killed by a madman! I wasn't supposed to exist, and now the whole balance is messed up because of me, and Theo has to kill me to set it right! I'M A THREAT! They'll probably kill you too since you're standing with me!" Ethox screamed at the top of his lungs.

Silence hung over the area as the words registered in the two's heads.

"...We should head back to the inn." Mirror said finally, his tone soft.

"Y-Yeah." Ethox muttered, his voice even softer. The two then walked away, not saying a word to each other.


Two days pass in Seimul, the town returning to normal thanks to Seiya obliterating the undead horde. As the townsfolk were busy going about their business, Ethox was walking around town, his hood draped over his head, thinking about everything that happened.

"Excuse me?" a voice asked. "Hey! Mr. Ethox!"

The Nobody turned around and put up his hood, seeing Elulu behind him.

"Oh, it's you… Elulu, right?" Ethox asked. He then looked around. "Hey, where's your friend?"

"C-Could you take me to Rista? I need to speak with her." Elulu said somberly.


Ethox obliged, taking the young girl to the inn where they were staying and brought her to Ristarte.

"Mash is missing?" She asked.

"Yes, he went missing two days ago. I can't find him anywhere." Eulu said.

"Did he go back to Nakeshi?" Ethox asked.

"No, if he did, he would've told me. I'm worried about him…" Elulu replied.

"Hmm...this sounds serious. We should probably tell Seiya about this." Ethox said.

"You mean the hero that took out all the undead, right? isn't he cool?" Eulu asked.

"I wouldn't go that far." Ristarte said. "Ever since he got that new Synthesis skill, he's been tinkering away in his room."

"I'm sure he'll at least hear us out." Ethox said as he knocked on Seiya's door.

"It's open." The voice of Seiya called out as the Nobody opened the door to a messy room. "Whatever it is, make it quick."

"What is this mess?!" Rista asked, seeing all the weapons and armor littering the room.

"Oh, that. Check this out." Seya said, revealing in his hand a sword much different than his old one. In fact, it gave off a radiant glow.

"A platinum sword… that's amazing. What did you do to make this?" RIstarte asked.

"Combining swords on their own did not increase their strength by much. To forge more powerful weapons, I needed a special catalyst. And I found one."

"What did you use that was so special?" Ethox asked.

"...Blonde Goddess hair." Seiya replied.

"What?" Rista said blankly.

"I found some in your room, since you shed like a dying dog. A little Synthesis, and boom, you're welcome."

"I have mixed feelings about this, but I'm glad you found one part of me useful." Rista said through gritted teeth, her whole body shaking in rage.

"Hold onto that for me. Also I'll need more of your hair, like a lot." Seiya said. "Which reminds me. I'll need to get some of Mirror Match's hair too. Dark unicorn hair could be a good catalyst too."

"Wha- how'd you figure out he was a unicorn? He hasn't shifted to his normal form since we met!" Ethox exclaimed.

"Simple: he's tripped more times than any of us combined." Seiya stated like it was a smoking gun.

"...Eh?" Ethox muttered as he cocked his head to one side.

"Hey, where is his royal Broodiness anyway?" Seiya asked.

At this, Ethox's face fell. "He… he's gone."

"What do you mean, he's gone?" Rista asked.

"After you two left, we got into an argument, and I said… he'd be killed too since he was hanging around me. I...I guess he took that to heart." Ethox shakily explained as he sat down, his face showing an expression of brokenness. "Man… I really am alone, aren't I? And maybe you're right Seiya… maybe I am nothing but a doom magnet."

The sad tension was broken up by a woman coming in with a package.

"I've got a special delivery for a hero!" she said.

"What's that? Who sent it?" Seiya asked.

"Some strange man in a hood brought it over." the woman explained. "He said something about giving that meathead hero a gift."

"That sounds fishy, it could be an explosive. Hey goddess, you open it." Seiya ordered.

"Just because I'm immortal, doesn't mean you can explosi-boss me!" Ristarte said opening it up and revealing a mirror, with her reflection in it. "Oh! Who's that beautiful girl there?"

She struck a few poses, only to be shaken when a spatter of blood appeared in the mirror and the image showed a dark room with a shadowed figure sitting at the center. The group stared at the image, until Ethox spoke.

"Oh no… don't tell me that's…" Ethox said.

"Mash! He's in trouble!" Elulu stated in panic as a raspy voice spoke from the mirror.

"Hello, can you see me? Can you hear the sound of my voice?" the strange voice asked before a skeletal-like man walked into view. "Well, I can see you all clearly through this magic mirror. I spy a strappingly handsome here, a beautiful goddess in white, an adorable red haired girl, and a shell of a boy in grey. Whoops, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Deathmalga, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, and I possess the talent of Necromancy."

"That's the undead general? What kind of general doesn't lead his army?" Ristarte asked.

"I must admit, I didn't expect you to dispatch my army so easily. It's rather fortunate that I was able to command them remotely. Do you know how hard it is to create an army of 10,000 zombies? Obviously, I thought I'd compensate with a little revenge….with this weak, milk-smelling boy."

"N-No… stop it, leave him alone!" Elulu pleaded.

"Working with corpses is tedious and it gets boring after a while. But a live human? They're so much fun. And when that gets old… well, there's always murder." Deathmalga monologued.

"You...You bastard." Ethox muttered.

Just then, Mash started to make noise, the gag preventing anyone from hearing what he has saying.

"Oh, what's this? Begging for your life at the end? By all means…" Deathmalga said as he cut off the gag. "...go ahead and cry for us."

"H-Hey hero, I heard you took down all 10,000 of those zombies." Mash said. "You may be a big, egotistical meathead, but… you're the real deal. You're just...different, y'know? Nothing wrong with that. No matter what happens… you gotta save the world!"

"(He's… different?)" Ethox thought. "(Wait...that's…!)


Flashback…

"From this day forth, Ethox, you are appointed the Elder of the Disney Heart Universe." Sigmund declared as he stood in front of the Nobody, the other Elders watching from their seats.

"Hey, welcome to the club!" Ultraman congratulated.

"You guys really want me? But… why? I'm a Nobody. I don't exist at all." Ethox said.

"Do not be so hard on yourself, mon ami." Le Kraken said. "You stand here, do you not? You do exist, you are just what we call 'différents'."

"That means different, in case you were wondering." Heat Wave spoke up.

"And how could we not add you to our legion? Your bravery and grit battling against that Heartless was on full display! Such spirit!" Maximus laughed. "You will be a keen ally in the fight against the Color Gods, when the time comes!"

"No matter what you were before… you're one of us now." Sigmund smiled.

"And nothing will change that."


"(Sigmund, everyone… they didn't consider me any less different than the others. They considered me their friend, their equal. Being the broken cog in some cosmic machine doesn't change that.)" Ethox thought. "(Yeah… I won't let being some magnet for trouble… stop me from doing what we all strived to do: make things better… for everyone!)"

"You know, Mash… you don't totally suck. After we rescue you, I'm gonna let you carry my stuff for me." Seiya said suddenly.

"Huh? Do you not understand that I'm in control here?!" Deathmalga said. "I have your trusted ally here, torturing him to death, and there's nothing you can do about it!" he said, jamming a knife in his chest as he laughed.

"No! Stop it!" Elulu said.

Deathmagla laughed before a hand was placed on his shoulder.

"Would you care to repeat that, you necromancer scum?" a familiar voice said.

"Wait, wha-?"

That was all Deathmalga got out before a crystalized gauntlet slammed into his face, knocking him to the floor.

(Never Turn Back by Crush 40 plays)

"It can't be...Mirror Match?!" Rista said in disbelief.

Sure enough, Mirror Match stood in the same room, towering over the fallen necromancer.

"I truly am pathetic…. If I cannot accept my friend despite what he believes, then who am I to call myself his friend?" Mirror akked.. "If a King cannot accept others views, they're nothing more than a tyrant."

"What?!" Deathmalga yelled in shock. "But how?! You've been missing from the hero's group for two days! You should have left Gaebrandae by now!"

"What, did you believe that one argument would be all it took to tear us apart?" Mirror Match asked the necromancer. "Perhaps if you surrender, you will be left off easily."

Everyone on the other side of the mirror was in shock.

"Wh… how did he get over there?!" Ristarte asked.

"I knew he wouldn't stay silent for long." Seiya said. "As his main element is darkness, he'd most likely stick to shadowy places. It makes sense he'd be able to slip into Deathmalga's hideout unseen."

"Grr… how dare you make a fool of me, you shadowy fake knight! I'll see you gutted!" Deathmagla yelled, grabbing his knife. "You took me by surprise, but there's nothing you can do to me all on your own!"

"Who said I'm on my own?" Mirror Match stated. "I didn't rename myself 'Mirror Match' for simply personal history."

(End Song)

The former king put out a hand towards the mirror in the room and fired a spell at it, causing the glass to glow. "Your turn, Seiya!"

"Nice job, your broodiness." Seiya said, leaping through the mirror and appearing next to him. "Surprise! Hell's Fire!"

The flame attack blasted the necromancer back, Seiya giving chase while the other made their way through the portal, Ethox grabbing Mirror Match in a hug.

"Match! I'm sorry I ever doubted you, even for a second!" Ethox laughed.

"And I am sorry as well. We can talk later. Right now, that necromancer must pay dearly for Mash's torture." Mirror Match replied as Ristarte appeared. "Rista, treat this young man's wounds. Ethox and I have a Heavenly King to help slay."

"Don't worry, I'll get him patched up." Ristarte said as the two ran ahead. A faint green glow appeared on her hands as she started healing Mash. "How're they doing?"

She looked ahead and saw the three in another room, Deathmagla standing behind a wall of black flames.

"Black flames? They seem to be protecting him." the goddess noticed, before she saw them turn into some kind of fiery spectre.

"Was that all it took to take down Chaos Machina?" Deathmalga sneered. "Well it won't work on this Heavenly King! Your weakness is insulting!"

"We'll do a lot more than insult you!" Ethox declared as he and Seiya charged, slashing at the spectre, only for the attacks to do no damage.

"Their attacks went right through it? It must be a ghost monster!" RIstarte theorized. "Seiya! Holy Water!"

"Already tried that stuff, it didn't work." Seiya said.

"Well if it's not a ghost or undead, then what is it?" Ethox asked.

"This creature is called Dark Firus. And it is the most fearsome creature I have ever created out of all my hundred experiments." Deathmagla said.

"A fire type? I thought you only created the undead." Ristarte replied.

"Modifying all manner of monsters happens to be my special skill, you basic simpleton!" the necromancer shot back.

"Basic?! That's it, we need to exploit his weakness right now!" Ristarte seethed as she scanned Dark Firus, only to be taken aback by what she saw. "Over 100,000 defense, immune to all weapon attacks and only weak to ice magic?!"

"Yes! The only way to defeat Dark Firus is to disrupt its molecular structure with the Melee skill Accilitory Wave, freeze it with ice magic, then hit it with an attack greater than its defense!" Deathmagla boasted.

"Huh. Thanks for the boss walkthrough, pops." Seiya said.

"Hold on…. Besides the fact a Melee skill is needed, Seiya specializes in fire magic. Ice magic is the complete opposite of what he does!" Ristarte realized. "There's no way to beat him!"

"I fed you that information to give you false hope and savior your despair." Deathmagla explained. "Hypothesizing every contingency and planning accordingly; that is the measure of a true tactician!"

"...Is this really happening?" Seiya asked, sounding exacerbated as he sheathed his sword.

"Pretty much." Ristarte replied.

"How surprising. I'm kinda shocked, honestly." the hero said. "You said you've planned for every contingency? Nah. I can read you like an open book."

"Are you implying that you've somehow anticipated this exact situation?" Deathmagla asked.

"Seriously? You do know who this guy is, right?" Ethox asked. "He's the Cautious Hero!"

"Very well, Seiya Ryuuguuin." Mirror Match said. "The floor is yours."

"I am perfectly prepared. I'm one hundred percent ready for this fight." Seiya said.

"Hah! I'm ready to wipe that stupic smirk off your dumb emo face!" Deathmagla said, ordering Dark Firus to prepare an attack. "Prepare to face a fire that won't burn out until it consumes you all! Dodge if you wish, but everyone behind you will be burnt instead!"

"I don't need to dodge you. Go ahead and do your worst." Seiya countered before he leaped towards the monster and punched it, causing the enemy to turn red.

"That's…!" Ethox said.

"The Accilitory Wave!" Rista said.

"That's impossible!" Deathmagla said. "You're a swordsman! How do you have a Melee Skill?!"

"I don't believe in limiting myself. If I couldn't use my blade, I'd have to use my fists." Seiya revealed. "Some enemies are resistant to sword attacks, and there's no telling when it might break during combat. What if it was stolen? What if it was rusted, dissolved, or even eaten by moths? Good thing I learned hand to hand combat."

"Okay, that is unbelievably cautious…" Deathmagla said before regaining composure. "No matter! Dark Firus can still kill you with his firey fists of death!"

The fire monster closed in to attack the hero, who simply balled his fist once more and met the punch with a punch. After making contact, Dark Firus's whole body began to be covered with ice.

"Wait… what?! NO! Fire and Ice magic are incompatible! There's no way you'd be able to use both!" Deathmagla said.

"Not here, anyway. So how…?" Mirror Match wondered before he noted a bracelet on Seiya's arm. "An elemental band!"

"And it isn't just any random one either!" Rista said.

"A magic item that grants properties of Ice?!" Deathmagla asked.

"But where did he get it…?" Rista wondered before realizing. "Synthesis! You made that bracelet yourself!"

"Yup." Seiya replied.

"Genius! How'd you make it?" Ethox inquired.

" I used an ordinary bangle, some ice cubes, and more of Rista's hair." Seiya answered. "I also made some for lightning, light, dark, basically all the elements, and I made spares for each. All made with hairs littered around Rista's bedroom."

"That's a lotta hair… wait, I'm not going bald, am I?" Rista wondered aloud.

"Only his body materialized! Your stupid hair cant overcome Dark Firus's defense!" Deathmagla returned.

"For once, you make a valid point." Mirror Match said. "It's clear to see Seiya cand break through a strong defense on his own. But you're overlooking one thing."

"What's that?!" Deathmagla asked.

"Your creatrion's entire body is nothing but pure ice now. And do you by chance know what is super effective against the ice element?" the former king grinned.

"...Fire magic! I didn't account for that!" Deathmagla realized in panic. "Dark Firus, stop his attack!"

"It's too late for that." Seiya said as his sword burned. "A single point strike...Phoenix Thrust!"

With his new move christened, Seiya struck the monster's form, causing it to crack and shatter into pieces.

"And Seiya, the Cautious Hero, takes the win!" Ethox cheered.

"Is he for real?" Mash marveled in tired disbelief. "He just beat that thing like it was nothing…"

"Eat it, sucker!" Rista boasted before running to celebrate at Seiya's side.

"That's what he gets for bragging about his creation. Though knowing Seiya, he'd probably figure it all out even if Deathmagla hadn't told him." Ethox said before turning to Mirror Match. "Still… if it wasn't for you, Match, we wouldn't even be here. I'm really sorry I dropped all that pressure on you. You're my friend, and I shouldn't have scared you like that."

"You misunderstand, Ethox." Mirror Match stated. "I didn't leave because I was scared, I left because I was ashamed of myself. I… I have been rather judgemental of Seiya these past few days. I was so blinded by anger that I failed to realize that… you're not naive. You are aware of his faults… you simply look past them to see the hero inside. I can't say I see it, not yet… but I will give it a chance to shine through."

"Do what you want," Seiya said, overhearing the conversation. "But just remember, I've still got no trust in a unicorn who can't keep balance on two legs, and a non-existent body that caused serious multiversal trouble."

At this, Ethox only sighed. "Guess he still doesn't trust us..."

"Then we'll just have to earn it, won't we?" Mirror asked as he smiled, the Nobody returning the expression.

"Now then… it's time for me to finish taking out the trash." Seiya declared, as Deathmagla gasped in horror as he approached, cracking his knuckles. "After that, this room needs a deep cleaning."

"Well, guess that's our cue to leave." Ethox said.

"I suppose we should be off then." Mirror said as the two started to help Ristarte carry Mash back through the portal. "Do try to keep the building in one piece, eh?" he called back to Seiya.

"Take all the time you need, kay?" Ristarte asked as they left Seiya to his usual routine of bombardment. And so it was that at that very moment, Deathmagla's screams of horror were so loud, the birds outside Crane Castle flew away in startled fright.